Programme Seven
1. SJD - Rising Falling Rising
(from "Southern Lights") (CD) (Round Trip Mars)
A new video from Sean Donnelly and band. We featured a live performance of "The Witness" in HUM 04 - and that song will be the band's next video. The "Southern Lights" album is doing very good business on the Independent Music chart, which can be found at -
http://www.indies.co.nz/chart.html
And further a field, French DJ/Producer Kid Loco is listing the SJD track "From To Be Or Not To Be" on his playlist for the month. It's at -
http://www.kidloco.com/screens/locodisco.html
More about SJD and "Southern Lights" at -
2. Strokes - The End Has No End
(from "Room On Fire" (CD) (BMG)
Room On Fire is the second album for this New York based band that featured at this year's "Big Day Out".
The video is the work of heavyweight music video director Sophie Muller. Her resume includes clips by Sinead O'Connor, the Dixie Chicks, Blur, Bjork, No Doubt. See a list of them all here -
The video features cameo appearances from actors Mila Kunis (Jackie on "That 70s Show) and Eva Mendes ("Stuck On You" and "@ Fast 2 Furious") - but the central character is the band's manager Ryan Gentiles.
The
Pitchforkmedia site has a comprehensive round up of what the
Strokes are up to at the moment.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-09/17.shtml
3. Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
(from "Aha Shake Heartbreak") (CD) (BMG) (released 08
Nov)
From the forthcoming album from the Followill brothers - Caleb, Nathan and Jared - and cousin Matthew. Dad was a United Pentecostal evangelist which may explain those Christian names (it may also explain the title of their "Holy Roller Novocaine" EP - but if there's an explanation for "Aha Shake Heartbreak we haven't heard it yet).
Less facial hair than when we saw them at this year's Big Day Out and a quieter sound for "The Bucket".
The
official site is here -
http://www.kingsofleon.com/
and there's an interview with the band here -
http://tennessean.com/entertainment/music/bonnaroo/archives/04/05/52273596.shtml
4. Rapture - Love Is All
(from "Echoes") (CD) (Universal)
"Love Is All" isn't a very representative example of the sound the Rapture has achieved on their debut album. Early eighties influences like the Cure and Public Image are in evidence on a lot of the tracks.
Read all about the video here -
http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=18455
and check out the band's website here -
http://www.therapturemusic.co.uk/
5. Pluto - To Hell (NZ)
(unreleased) (Hum Recording)
Pluto made a huge impression with their debut album - "Red Light Syndrome" - and the classic "Hey Little" - back in 2001 but there hasn't been much in the way of recorded output since then. The good news is that a second album is in the final stages of being recorded - and it should hopefully be out before Christmas.
Pluto's
website is largely empty at the moment but that should change when
the album gets released. It's at -
http://www.pluto.net.nz/
In the
meantime everything the very fine Noizyland site is a good place to
start for information about the band that started life as Johnny
Custard
http://www.noizyland.com/home/view_band_info.asp?ID=262
Photographer Mel Smith (who also doubles as recording artist Emerald Green) has some good live pics of Pluto on her site -
http://www.homepages.paradise.net.nz/melsphotos/Pluto/index.html
Pluto are playing at the Studio (Karangahape Rd, Auckland) on Friday 29 Oct.
6. Bads - Bit By Bit
(unreleased) (album due from South Recordings next
year)
A brand new video for the Bads - led by Dianne Swann and Brett Adams. Their label "South Recordings is run by Stephen McCarthy (of Pine and the very good bands.co.nz website and he tells us -
"The Bads present their new single Bit By Bit taken from the forthcoming album out in February on South Recordings.
Filmed on their Greg Johnson support tour earlier this year, the new single Bit By Bit.features the hand-drawn animation of Manchester designer Christopher Waind. Waind has worked on projects for Carl Cox, Virgin Games, The Guardian, Nintendo and The London Underground.
We managed to pin him down inflicting insomnia upon his flying visit to New Zealand as he spent the last 2 months painstakingly drawing and crafting each animation for a massive 200 hour sketching project, crafted from Victorian themes and body parts."
We featured a "Hum" live recording from the Bads in programme 3. More information about them is on that page -
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_story_skin/448271%3fformat=html
7. Patti Scialfa - 53rd Street Lullaby
(from "53rd Street Lullaby") (CD) (Sony)
She is, of course, Bruce Springsteen's wife - and a member of the E Street Band. But anyone who heard her very fine debut album, "Rumble Doll" from 1993, will know that Patti Scialfa's albums aren't vanity projects by any means.
Here are some interviews with her -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52433-2004Jun18.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/29/earlyshow/leisure/music/main626607.shtml
and her
website is -
http://www.pattiscialfa.net
8. Tommy - Rise
(from "4000 Years") (CD) (Loop)
Debut
album for this Wellington band. Read all about them at the Loop
site -
http://www.loop.co.nz/images/Press_Release_-_Tommy.pdf
9. 3Ds - Outer Space
(from "Second Season") (DVD) (Flying Nun/FMR)
(released 08 Nov)
"Second Season" is another compilation of Flying Nun videos - following on from "Very Short Films" which appeared earlier this year. Details are at
http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/viewartist.cfm?artistid=583
And more about the 3Ds is here -
http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/archive_site/bands/3ds/3dbios.html
10. Surrealistic - Electric State Of Calm
(from Surrealistic's debut CD) (LHP Records)
Self
released debut CD from this Auckland band. Their website is at
-
http://www.surrealistic.co.nz
11. Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan
(from "The Essential Leonard Cohen") (CD)
(Sony)
And Leonard should need no introduction. He might not make new videos now (which is why we're playing this blast from the past) but he's been quite prolific over the years. All the details of Leonard Cohen on film and video are here (including the information that he video was shot in 1988 - on the beach at Normandy).
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pilgraeme/cohen_videos.htm
His new album - Dear Heather - is out next week. Details on his website -
